United Nations Establishes October 11 as the International Day of the Girl!

The Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly agreed to designate October 11 as the International Day of the Girl to be observed every year beginning in 2012! In a resolution presented by Canda, the General Assembly invites Member States, the UN system, other international organizations and civil society to observe the International Day of the Girl and to raise awareness of the situation of girls around the world. Click here to read more at Xperedon Charity News.

LitWorld celebrated International Day of the Girl this past September 22 by having everyone Stand Up for Girls at noon. We're thrilled to see this day get officially ordained on the calendar for years to come!

A Dynamic Holiday Gift for LitWorld to Help a Child and Honor a Loved One

Children all over the world have stories to tell.
Help LitWorld continue the vital work of empowering boys and girls
to become lifelong readers and writers.

Together Let's Change the World, Story by Story.
Join with us to reach many more thousands of children.

$10 Supplies a LitClub with Writer's Notebooks
$50 Supports World Read Aloud Day Events Around the Globe
$100 Equips a LitClub with Solar Lanterns
$500 Brings Technology & Connectivity to a LitClub
$1,000 Provides Books to a LitWorld Library
$5,000 Launches a new LitClub

A donation to LitWorld can be made in honor of a friend, a teacher, a colleague, a family member.
Click here to download a certificate to include with your holiday cards!

Soaring with the Power Women of Kibera, Kenya

The women on the LitWorld team in the New York City office have a Skype date "Read & Bead" with the Power Women of Kibera, Kenya every few weeks and it is a highlight of the day, week, and month for all of us. After being ostracized by their communities because of their HIV-positive status, the Power Women came together to support one another and work together to improve their living situations and heal their lives.

The Power Women teach us how to make some of their incredible crafts, including paper beads and necklaces, and we read together and talk about being mothers, being daughters, dreaming big, and staying strong. Please give them a sign of support on December 3, their major fundraising day for the year, as these women are an integral part of the LitWorld family, and an example of how much having a community to share stories and words and resources with can change your ability to live a full life.

Click here to read more about LitWorld's Skypes with the Power Women.

Click here to visit the Power Women website and learn more about them and their work.

In Rwanda Dreaming Together About All the Ways Children Grow Up Healthy

LitWorld visits amazing friends at Partners in Health (PIH) in Rwanda to dream together about all the ways children grow up healthy! There was so much synergy and good energy, and we look forward to the possibility of collaborating with PIH in creating safe spaces for children to learn literacy.

Pam demonstrating the power of reading aloud to a school librarian in a village in Rwanda

The LitWorld delegation is inspired and beyond moved by the courage and resilience of the Rwandese people. They have rebuilt their world after years of despair and hope is shining. We are honored to hear their stories.

More updates soon, but for now, follow the journey at:

http://www.facebook.com/litworld

and via Twitter at: @litworldsays

Smiles in Kibera: The Wall of Dreams, a New Library, & the Magic of Dress-Up

 

The children have begun to build a library with LitWorld’s support. They write what they hope for and what they dream of for the impact of reading on their lives, and how the library can support their dreams.

The children worked together with us to create categories for their books so that the library will have deep meaning and purpose and use for them.

The library grew like the secret garden...its shoots turned green in two days, as Denise and the children carefully planted the beautiful books into their new home. The bookshelves were handmade by the wonderful craftsmen of Kibera.

Their stories are about dragons and dreams and hopes and… hunger. There is always hunger in their stories, for hunger is a real thing for them. And yet, there is always a once upon a time.

And happily ever after.

The LitWorld Team is in Africa!

Pam pictured with Denise Ortiz of Sharing to Learn Organization

The LitWorld team has arrived in Africa, and they have had an amazing journey so far! After spending a few days in Kibera, Kenya, they are now in Rwanda to push forward our crusade to share the gift of reading, writing, and story. Denise Ortiz of Sharing to Learn joins the team on this journey, and has helped the Red Rose School create a new library!

Our dear LitWorld friend Sophia, teacher of grade two, enjoys her role in creating the library.

As you may remember from our past blog post, we packed up a bag full of hats and fun costumes for the children in Kenya. We wanted to inspire them to create stories and explore their wildest imaginations, so we brought a few props to help them get in the spirit!  These photos below show the costumes in action, and as you can see from their smiles, these costumes have brought fun and magic to their community!

Speaking of big imaginations, the men of the LitWorld team sure know how to use theirs! Pictured below are  Bill Krupman, Jim Allyn, and Jeremy Kohomban of the Children's Village reading "Where the Wild Things Are" to a group of ecstatic young readers stirred up with excitement and a healthy dose of ruckus! 

Our Girls LitClubs in Kibera, Kenya are thriving and growing, and we're excited to find that the young women who are a part of the LitClubs have grown huge confidence & friendships, while being taught to read and write!

Needless to say, the team is having a wonderful time, and have left Kibera, Kenya, to journey to Rwanda. More updates to come soon! 

We hope you will come along with us on our journey. Follow our stories in Africa:

FACEBOOK page: http://www.facebook.com/litworld

TWITTER: Follow @pamallyn and @litworldsays

-The LitWorld Team

The Bags are Packed: LitWorld's Off to Africa!

Picture books, chapter books, notebooks, pens, pencils, dress-up clothing... Everything's packed and ready to go to our friends in Kenya and Rwanda this week!